Meanwhile, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), a former Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman and the first Latina elected to Congress, and Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.), who formerly served in leadership as GOP conference vice chairwoman, both are retiring at the end of this Congress.

In interviews with The Hill, some female GOP lawmakers and their aides suggested that subtle sexism in the male-dominated House Republican Conference has blocked talented, experienced women from climbing the leadership ladder. Women comprise just 21 of the 238 Republicans in the House, or less than 10 percent.

Of the 193 House Democrats with full voting privileges, there are 62 women — 32 percent of the caucus.

“You think it would be helpful to be a female, but it’s sort of a detraction. I can’t believe I would say that, but it shows,” Ros-Lehtinen told The Hill. “Some of these guys, they just see themselves in those [top leadership] positions and they want it for themselves. And they think if it goes to a woman they will never be able to grab it again.

“There are better staircases to use which will get you further than being in the House. That’s the reason they are running for other offices.”

But the episode proved once again that the GOP conference was not going to promote a woman to any of the “Big Three” leadership jobs. Earlier this year, several media outlets reported that President Trump had picked McMorris Rodgers to be his Interior secretary, but he changed his mind and instead gave the job to Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.).

“You won’t see a woman in a leadership spot besides conference chair for many years. The House GOP isn’t built for it,” fumed a top aide to a female GOP lawmaker. “There are too many well-meaning Southern men who wouldn’t vote for a strong assertive women when the other choice is another Southern man.”

“I don’t think there is a concerted effort to keep women out of leadership,” the staffer said. “But given a choice, this conference will always go the other way.”

In an interview Tuesday, McMorris Rodgers downplayed the idea of a House GOP glass ceiling, calling the lower chamber “a farm team where people always come to get experience to run for higher office.” But she acknowledged the challenges women face in Congress are similar to those in other workplaces.

“I think what’s happening in Congress is not that much different than the national conversation that we’re having as a society about women who are filling these roles that have traditionally been held by men,” McMorris Rodgers told The Hill.

House Republicans have been criticized in the past for not being more cognizant on gender matters. For example, Democrats in 2012 cried foul when a GOP-led panel heard from an all-male panel about an Obama-era policy on contraception.

In March, a photograph from a healthcare meeting at the White House attended by Trump, Vice President Pence and the all-male House Freedom Caucus did not include a single woman. A photo-op of Trump and House Republicans celebrating their healthcare victory in the Rose Garden also was similarly panned.

“Those photos with President Trump and the White House, it’s a bunch of guys and then the healthcare [Senate] group. ... Photo after photo, they just don’t get it,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

Ros-Lehtinen, who is one of only two Republican women on the Foreign Affairs Committee and served two years as that panel’s chairwoman, has been a vocal critic of Trump and said he’s “not my cup of tea.” But it’s not “disillusionment or discomfort with the current political climate” that’s driving her into retirement, she said.

The dean of the Florida delegation also said quitting Congress has nothing to do with fears she could be defeated in 2018, though Clinton beat Trump by about 20 points in her Miami-area district.

Ros-Lehtinen, 64, said she’s simply ready for something different after nearly three decades in the House.

Republicans got a third committee chairwoman in February when the Ryan-aligned Steering Committee picked Black to succeed Price as head of the Budget panel after Trump tapped him to be his Health and Human Services secretary.

But she may not stay for long. Her spokeswoman, Hillary Lassiter, said Black is completely focused on her work on the Budget panel. But other sources close to the four-term lawmaker and former nurse said she is likely to announce a Tennessee gubernatorial bid later this year.

“I think it is very likely that she runs. I would be surprised if she didn’t,” said a GOP source close to Black.

“We still have a lot of work to do as a party. Unfortunately we lose women at the same rate as we’re gaining women,” McMorris Rodgers said. “We need to continue to work to recruit more women to run, help them run a successful campaign, and help them win their races so they can serve in the House.”